3 ms·

To be fair I have the 16” MacBook and the new keyboard is much, much better. I almost bought a Windows laptop but the MacBook came out just before in bought it.

To be fair I have the 16” MacBook and the new keyboard is much, much better. I almost bought a Windows laptop but the MacBook came out just before in bought it. The touchbar is still 100% useless. I don’t want my keys to keep changing on me, did no one do any usability studies on it? It’s absolutely stupid. And the previous keyboard is pure incompetence. But the new keyboards are better. They should really just go back entirely to the 2015 keyboard.

tracker1 7y ago
2009-2014 iirc.. the bad ones started in 2015.
- DanCarvajal 7y ago
  I believe they mean the 2015 rMBP which was still for sale with the old design at the time but relatively up to do spec wise (I'm typing on one right now).
- runjake 7y ago
  The MacBook Pro 15 2015 still had the good keyboard. They went to the bad keyboards in the Pro line starting in 2016. However, the MacBook 12" had the bad keyboard from the beginning. It came out first in 2015.
  - AgloeDreams 7y ago
    Oddly there were not any major complaints (With reliability) on the original (2015) MacBook. It was also really quiet vs the 2016 15 Pro I had. (Low-key loved the clack on the 2016). I think the change they made is what screwed with it.
forgotmypw 7y ago
The touchbar is useless, but the whole keyboard is about as useful as any other laptop keyboard out there. They all fucking suck terribly. I've given up on the lot of them, and I now carry around a standard-layout 104-key keyboard with me wherever I carry the laptop. It's not that bulky, and I'm way more productive on the standard layout I've used for two decades compared to whatever moronic, or even intelligent compromise some committee of designers came up with to squeeze it down to 2/3 of its original size.
kmlx 7y ago
> I don’t want my keys to keep changing on me, did no one do any usability studies on it? personal advice: modify it to always show the exact same set of buttons at all times. settings > keyboard > touch bar shows > expanded control strip https://miro.medium.com/max/4680/1*hg94CwdnN0BBhfk2rp2j5A.png https://miro.medium.com/max/4680/1*hg94CwdnN0BBhfk2rp2j5A.pn...
pier25 7y ago
> The touchbar is still 100% useless Most people seem to feel this way. I'm guessing Apple wants to get rid of its TB parts in stock before making it optional or entirely removing it from the next models. Personally even if it was somewhat useful I'd rather not have it. How much is Apple charging for it to the end user? $200-300? No thanks. I also feel it's a ticking bomb. I just want a 2015 model with updated specs.
- PascLeRasc 7y ago
  I totally agree with you about wanting an updated 2015 rMBP, but just for what it's worth I'm extremely happy with my 2015 15" and don't really need a spec upgrade. I use mine for data science projects and music production, and it's still extremely fast for both. It's basically perfect and you can usually find them for ~$1k or even less. Magsafe alone is too good to give up.
  - pier25 7y ago
    When Apple announced the 2016 models I bought a 15'' 2015 model with an iGPU since it was the only model available new. It was a fine machine in many respects but I ended up selling it about a year later. At the time I lived in Cancun and the 4th gen CPU got too hot to use comfortably in my lap (indoors with AC). Sharing the screen on Skype put the fans to the max which I found very annoying. I also had issues when trying to record my screen while running Ableton Live. I ended up buying a 5K iMac in early 2018 which was the best option available which is what I still use 90% of my time. Sometimes I still use an old 13'' 2014 rMBP when I'm away from my desk at home.
m463 7y ago
I think the original macbook pro keyboard was the best for my fingers. Nice comfortable curved keys with a decent throw. The curvature let your fingers know they were centered over the keys, and spread the force over the entire surface of your finger instead of a hotspot of pressure in the center. flat keys are dumb. Older thinkpad keyboards are nice too.

tracker1 7y ago

2009-2014 iirc.. the bad ones started in 2015.

DanCarvajal 7y ago
I believe they mean the 2015 rMBP which was still for sale with the old design at the time but relatively up to do spec wise (I'm typing on one right now).
runjake 7y ago
The MacBook Pro 15 2015 still had the good keyboard. They went to the bad keyboards in the Pro line starting in 2016. However, the MacBook 12" had the bad keyboard from the beginning. It came out first in 2015.
- AgloeDreams 7y ago
  Oddly there were not any major complaints (With reliability) on the original (2015) MacBook. It was also really quiet vs the 2016 15 Pro I had. (Low-key loved the clack on the 2016). I think the change they made is what screwed with it.

forgotmypw 7y ago

The touchbar is useless, but the whole keyboard is about as useful as any other laptop keyboard out there. They all fucking suck terribly. I've given up on the lot of them, and I now carry around a standard-layout 104-key keyboard with me wherever I carry the laptop. It's not that bulky, and I'm way more productive on the standard layout I've used for two decades compared to whatever moronic, or even intelligent compromise some committee of designers came up with to squeeze it down to 2/3 of its original size.

kmlx 7y ago

> I don’t want my keys to keep changing on me, did no one do any usability studies on it? personal advice: modify it to always show the exact same set of buttons at all times. settings > keyboard > touch bar shows > expanded control strip https://miro.medium.com/max/4680/1*hg94CwdnN0BBhfk2rp2j5A.png https://miro.medium.com/max/4680/1*hg94CwdnN0BBhfk2rp2j5A.pn...

pier25 7y ago

> The touchbar is still 100% useless Most people seem to feel this way. I'm guessing Apple wants to get rid of its TB parts in stock before making it optional or entirely removing it from the next models. Personally even if it was somewhat useful I'd rather not have it. How much is Apple charging for it to the end user? $200-300? No thanks. I also feel it's a ticking bomb. I just want a 2015 model with updated specs.

PascLeRasc 7y ago
I totally agree with you about wanting an updated 2015 rMBP, but just for what it's worth I'm extremely happy with my 2015 15" and don't really need a spec upgrade. I use mine for data science projects and music production, and it's still extremely fast for both. It's basically perfect and you can usually find them for ~$1k or even less. Magsafe alone is too good to give up.
- pier25 7y ago
  When Apple announced the 2016 models I bought a 15'' 2015 model with an iGPU since it was the only model available new. It was a fine machine in many respects but I ended up selling it about a year later. At the time I lived in Cancun and the 4th gen CPU got too hot to use comfortably in my lap (indoors with AC). Sharing the screen on Skype put the fans to the max which I found very annoying. I also had issues when trying to record my screen while running Ableton Live. I ended up buying a 5K iMac in early 2018 which was the best option available which is what I still use 90% of my time. Sometimes I still use an old 13'' 2014 rMBP when I'm away from my desk at home.

m463 7y ago

I think the original macbook pro keyboard was the best for my fingers. Nice comfortable curved keys with a decent throw. The curvature let your fingers know they were centered over the keys, and spread the force over the entire surface of your finger instead of a hotspot of pressure in the center. flat keys are dumb. Older thinkpad keyboards are nice too.